Desperate housewitch

Nicole Kidman has a nose for magic--in 'Bewitched' she and Will Ferrell team up to put a spell on moviegoers

June 23, 2005|By Miki Turner for RedEye. MIKI TURNER IS A REDEYE SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR.

LOS ANGELES — Nicole Kidman is no stranger to the supernatural.

She played a witch in the 1998 film "Practical Magic." She resembles Elizabeth Montgomery, who introduced America to Samantha the witch in the 1960s TV show, "Bewitched." So it seems Kidman was the perfect choice to play Samantha in the big-screen version of the show.

But don't expect this film to be a copycat of the sitcom. In the film, which opens Friday, Kidman plays a real witch named Isabel, who plays a witch named Samantha on a TV show called "Bewitched."

Isabel is a single woman who's hoping to hook up with a mortal dude and live an ordinary suburban life. Instead, she finds Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell), a has-been actor on the comeback trail who casts the non-actress Isabel in his TV update of the popular TV sitcom. Initially sparks fly between the two, leading Isabel to believe that she's found her perfect mortal. But when Jack's ego gets in the way, Isabel makes his life miserable with a twitch of her nose.

Kidman's ability to wiggle her nose helped get her the gig in this Nora Ephron film that also stars Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine. It's a skill, however, that didn't exactly come naturally.

"Oh, no, I needed a mirror, and I need the slow-mo on the VCR," Kidman told RedEye. "I would put [Montgomery's] nose in slow motion, and then I would put the mirror up to my face, and I would kind of try to mimic it. And my mom would say, 'No, that wasn't very good. Try again!' "

Several plastic surgeons reportedly say Kidman's nose is one of the most requested by women looking to alter their appearance.

As a longtime fan of the show, Kidman had no qualms about doing a remake. But just because she has an Oscar and is one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses doesn't mean that the ex-Mrs. Tom Cruise wasn't nervous about hopping on that motorized broomstick.

"I always have doubts on everything," Kidman said with a laugh. "I think that's something that motivates you. I think it's always better to be 'I'm not sure, teach me, and I'm willing to listen, and I'm willing to learn.'

"And I think you're always hesitant about any movie, so I don't think it's even about trying to do a remake of a TV series. Everyone always told me I looked so much like Elizabeth Montgomery, so that was the first thing that got me interested in the possibility of a film version. As a little girl I watched almost every episode of the series. However, when Nora said she would write and direct, I thought, well, this is something I have to do."

Playing Ferrell's love interest was equally intriguing to Kidman, who scoffed at the notion that an Oscar winner and the star of "Old School" couldn't or shouldn't work together.

"They said that Sean Penn and I were an unnatural pairing," Kidman said of her film "The Interpreter." "But I suppose with Will and I, it's kind of an odd pairing, but at the same time it was still a really fun pairing. He's very, very generous with his talent--let's put it that way. He would always say 'C'mon Nicole, you can do it.' He was always coaxing me out of my shell."

Ferrell said his co-star made it easy.

"Well, let's just say it wasn't that hard to play falling in love with Nicole Kidman," Ferrell said. "But even beyond that, it was a treat to work with her because she is so available in her performance that any sort of awkwardness I might have felt about playing opposite someone of her caliber just disappeared immediately."

Their chemistry isn't exactly magical, but there is something about Kidman in this role that makes you believe she could really whip up a souffle with the twitch of her nose. Or at least make those minute-by-minute TomKat updates go away with the wave of her well-manicured hand.

Poof!

But Kidman says that if she really were a witch, she'd only use her powers for good--like curing cancer or feeding the hungry. Or, like her character in "Practical Magic," to find love.

"I think the concept is that everyone wishes they could do a little magic," Kidman said. "I think the overall idea of the film is that to fall in love requires a little magic."